City 17: Untouchable
by Dizzy Donuts
Summary: On arrival to City 17 Skylar thinks her live will be horrible and full of fear. But as the people around her disappear she realises something is protecting her. Then she makes new acquaintances, discovers the truth and begins to see that there might be a light in the darkness. Rated T for violence.
1. Relocation

My eyes open slowly, so slowly. My head pounds. I wake up inside a train. The seat I'm lying on has red fabric that is all but worn away; I see the rivets drawn into the walls, the rubbish on the floor, the general wear and tear of the place. I slowly move round and sit up. I see two others on the train. One is male with a deep tan, dark hair and wearing the worn clothing that everyone seems to have. The other was also male; he was pale with brown hair and a scared looking face. They both look at me as I sit up.

"Er… Hi," The first man said, "I was wondering if you were okay, you didn't wake up at all."

"Hello," I replied, "I am fine, thank you. It's just been a long few days."

"I know what you mean, so, which city are you moving from?"

"City 11. What about you?"

"City 8."

"I'm going to 17 now," He said. The conversation is difficult because there is not much we are allowed to say.

"Yeah me too," I said, I smiled at him to make him feel more comfortable, it felt strange to smile I have never done it in such a long time. The other man was just sitting nervously on the edge of his chair.

"My name is Cole," The first man said, "What is yours?" He is trying to make the other man comfortable by keeping up the conversation. It's like he is pretending to not know what we are heading towards, the only problem is City 17 has a reputation and saying it is bad is just an understatement.

"My name is Skylar," I replied with another smile which felt too false, there is no way I could be happy, "How about you?" I look to the second man. His eyes lifted of the filthy floor to me.

"My name…" His voice was hard and clear, "Is Luke." His eyes returned to the floor and the look of fear resurfaced. Silence fell on our train car. I could feel the fear and the dread hanging heavily on my shoulders, my clothes, my hair, everything. The train jolted and rocked and bumped over the tracks every now and then sending vibrations through my spine. I liked City 11, my family and friends were there, it had its own kind of dangerous safety. Now I have nothing. Nothing was drawing closer and closer by the second. Then the train slowed into the station and my hope sunk like a stone. The door opened automatically. I saw Luke begin to tremble. Cole bravely picks up his case and steps onto the platform first. Luke follows with his case, still trembling and I follow him with my case.

The floor is dirty with food packaging and lost belongings everywhere. Then I hear Dr Breen's booming voice welcoming us to City 17. His face is projected onto a screen; he has greying hair, wrinkles and a brown suit. The three of us continue into the station ignoring Dr Breen's ludicrous claims. Then we see multiple fences with loads of Civil Protection officers standing around.

"This way," Speaks one of them, they sound the same; monotone, robotic, alien.

"NO!" Luke bursts, "I can't do this, I want to go back!"

The CPs look at him.

"This way!" The first one repeats more abruptly.

"NO! NO! NO! I am not moving!" Luke yelled. The CP pulls his stunstick up to his side and approaches Luke whose expression is now wild. He brings it down of Luke's face knocking his balance slightly. Luke pushes the CP officer.

"I'll kill you if you lay another finger on me!" Luke exclaims. Two more officers run towards him.

"Surrender citizen!" Another CP officer demands.

"NEVER!" Luke screams. The three officers pull Luke to the ground, grabbing him by his clothes. The left sleeve tears and falls to the ground revealing a jet black armband with an orange lambda symbol on it.

"Resistance!" The third officer bellowed. More CPs approach there stunsticks raised high; they all beat Luke repeatedly until the ground around him turns scarlet and his body turns motionless. No wonder he was so edgy, he was resistance.

"Move on!" The first CP officer demands Cole and I raising his blood drenched stunstick at us, "Nothing to see here." We walk along through the rest of the fencing and the seemingly endless searches. Cole and I are then allowed to leave the train station and find our flat because luckily we have been put together, at least I have one acquaintance.


	2. Heartless Oppressor

The flat is in no condition for living. There are hardly any furnishings or walls or floor or anything. There is a chair, 2 beds with only mattresses- even though there are at least five people in this flat, and the standard kitchen and bathroom fittings.

"Erm… hello?" One of the five questioned our arrival, "Who are you?"

"I'm Skylar," I said and then gestured to Cole, "This is Cole."

"We have been assigned here," Cole stated.

"Welcome to the city of hell!" Another one said.

"I'm David, I work in the factory industry," greeted the first one.

The others told us their names: Nadia, Brick, Maisie and the one who welcomed us to the city of hell was called Inferno. The all ranged from ages 20-50 and all had the same worn looks.

"So where are you from?" asked Nadia, her skin was a soft chocolate which matched her eye colour.

"I'm from City 11 and Cole is from City 8," I replied.

"Aren't those cities rife with resistance?" David asked suspicious of us.

"I'm not sure," Cole replied carefully.

"Anyway, David, Brick, don't you need to go to work?" asked Maisie.

"Yes, we do," Brick replied and they both left. For some reason I didn't like either of them, they seemed too suspicious of everyone.

"Can we trust you?" Maisie questioned. She had beautiful blonde hair and dark green eyes.

"Yes, I suppose," Cole said with a friendly smile.

"Me, Nadia and Inferno…" Maisie began, "Are resistance. Do not tell anyone."

"Seeing as your both from cities with the largest amount of resistance, can you tell me why you were relocated?" Nadia asked.

"I caused too much trouble, my family was always surprised that I didn't end up dead or in Nova Prospekt. The Combine moved me because people began to copy some of my actions and they didn't want an uprising on their hands," I explained.

"And you?" Inferno asked Cole, she had auburn hair and deep, searching eyes.

"Unlike Skylar I have spent time in Nova Prospekt, I assaulted a grass, a man I knew- Oscar- he alerted the Combine that my sister was resistance, then they killed her. I was released two years on and they decided I should move to a different city for their grasses safety." Cole answered.

"We need more resistance members, will you help us?" Maisie asked.

"Well… we'll have to think about it," Cole replied. Then some CPs entered the flat.

"Time for physical activities, I suggest you," He pointed to me and Cole, "Go out for a walk and you…" he pointed to the others, "Go to room 160 in the activity hall." He then left and so did we.

"Why did you say we'd have to think about it?" I whispered to Cole.

Cole looked at me, "Because it's dangerous. We could get killed."

"Cole, their oppressors and they need to be overthrown," I said, "Think of your sister." For a while Cole went silent, I thought I had done wrong by saying what I did.

"I'll do it," Cole said, he looked at me again, "Are you?"  
"Absolutely!" I replied.

On return to the flat we noticed blood down the stairs. We run up three steps at a time until we got in. Only to find Maisie and Inferno sitting tearfully in the 'living' room floor.

"What happened?" Cole said.

Maisie sniffed, "They suspected Nadia of resistance, when we got home the CPs followed and they took her and killed her."

"We think David was suspicious of her…" Inferno was interrupted by the return of David and Brick.

"Suspicious of whom?" He asked.

"Nadia, the Combine killed her."

"Only to good I say, one less mouth to feed."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Inferno flared up, she launched herself at David hitting him across the face. He pushed her off, onto the floor.

"I would stop this if I were you," He advised coldly.

"Your just like them," Inferno yelled, "A heartless oppressor."


	3. Resistance

The weeks that followed were pretty boring; we had to the same activities day in, day out. But when we did help with a plan for a larger group of resistance David and Brick became more and more suspicious of us. Until one day when they caught us in the act.

"The others are going to lay mines along the intercity train lines to stop reinforcements being able to enter," Inferno instructed just as Brick and David pushed through the door.

"I knew it, all along I have been living with filthy resistance scum!" David exclaimed, "None of you move will be back in a second." The both of them left.

"Well, you can't call them smart," Maisie said, she reached into the back of the chair and pulled out a gun, "This is the only one we have, let's go, now!" We raced from the flat not wanting to be caught by the combine. We ran down several streets to hear the warning alarm being sounded.

"Warning! Resistance members on the loose!" came a robotic voice over the alarm. We climbed a dark, iron fence and climbed into the garden of a large yellow building.

"Psst…" Someone called, "Follow me." It was a girl who was older than me; she had dark curly hair and was wearing a Black Mesa sweatshirt under her beige jacket.

"No!" Cole exclaimed putting his arm in front of me as I went towards her, "How do you know you can trust her?"

"Look at her sweatshirt, doesn't that mean anything to you?" I replied and carried on past Cole, but as he turned a bullet flew into his head surrounding the area in his blood. I ran towards the girl and turned back, the Combine sniper had picked every one of them off. I let out a shriek.

"I was there why didn't they kill me too?" I said through my tears.

"Come on," The girl said, "It's not safe here!" She guided me through many streets; I have no idea where I ended up all I remembered was a ride on a rusty green elevator to a basement, and then entering what looked like a laboratory. I wished I remembered the way out because the first person I saw was a CP officer. I shrieked and tried to run only for the officer to tighten a grip around my waist.


End file.
